


Cafe Nua

by haledamage



Category: Pillars of Eternity
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Meet-Cute, and hiravias helps, kana plays matchmaker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-30
Updated: 2017-09-30
Packaged: 2019-01-07 03:21:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12224697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haledamage/pseuds/haledamage
Summary: modern au! Kana wants to hook his two closest friends up with each other. it turns out it's really easy to do so





	Cafe Nua

**Author's Note:**

> for prompt 0007. since I'm the one that submitted the prompt, it seemed only fair I go all-out for it, so I decided to go modern au!

"Hey, Kana?" Aloth kept his voice down even though they were the only ones left in the library.

"Yes, my friend?" Kana made no attempt to be quiet. He didn't look up from his notes.

Aloth closed the book in front of him, not bothering to pretend he was still studying. "You're usually pretty good with people, right? With talking to them, I mean."

"I suppose. I enjoy being _around_ people, at least. I find that helps." He closed his book, too, and finally looked up at Aloth. "Is something bothering you?"

Aloth tugged at his sleeve. "No, nothing. I… there's a new person at my support group, and she seems nice, but I have no idea how to start a conversation with a stranger."

"She seems nice, or _nice_?" Kana asked, grinning widely.

Aloth blushed and kept his eyes on his textbook, picking at a frayed corner of the binding. "A little of both, maybe."

Kana laughed. "You could start by saying 'hi' and see where that gets you. Or maybe Iselmyr has some advice?"

Aloth scowled. "I'd rather not repeat what Iselmyr suggested."

"Oh come now, she can't be wrong all the time!"

"You'd be surprised."

Whatever else Kana had intended to say was cut off as his phone beeped merrily. "Ah, that's my cue. I promised Maia I'd be home for dinner tonight. She's trying some new recipe and wants me to taste test. You're welcome to come too." Kana packed his things away haphazardly in his bag.

Aloth put his books away more slowly, stacking everything meticulously. "Tempting, but I'll pass. Your family can be… very intimidating."

"Yes, I suppose they can." Kana waited patiently for Aloth to finish packing up. "I told my boss I'd come in to the cafe early tomorrow to help with prep. Why don't you stop by after your classes? You can meet my boss, practice talking to a girl in a controlled environment." Aloth scowled more and Kana laughed again. "There's free coffee in it for you, too!"

"Maybe you should have led with that," Aloth muttered, then added "I'll try, if my schedule permits. What did you say the place is called?"

"Cafe Nua. It's on the east side of town, I'll text you the address." Kana picked up his bag and fell into step with Aloth as they left the building.

\-------

The bell over the front door rang and Kai knew who it was without stepping into the front room to check. "Good morning, Kana!"

"Good morning!" His voice carried easily into the kitchen and its owner followed shortly after it. "What're you making? It smells delicious!"

"I thought it'd be fun to use some of that Rauatan dark chocolate to make brownies, since the cookies have been so popular. And this," she said as she leaned all her weight on the ball of dough in front of her on the table," is going to be cinnamon rolls whether it likes it or not."

"You need me to remind it who's boss?" He held his fists up in an attempt to threaten the poor dough ball. 'Threatening' was the last word Kai would use to describe Kana, even though he towered over her.

She laughed. "No need, my dear. If it keeps giving me trouble I'm sure Concelhaut's Crushing Doom will convince it to cooperate. Can you please bring in the flour and coffee beans that were delivered this morning? The bags are almost as big as I am."

Kana went out the back door and came back with two huge bags of coffee slung over one shoulder. "You don't know any spells that make you super strong? And you call yourself a wizard!"

"Not all of us can just sing a song and conjure an extra pair of hands out of thin air."

Kana ended up doing just that and summoning a drake. He loaded the delivered ingredients on its back and took them to the pantry in one quick trip. He thanked it for its help and it snorted and disappeared.

"So I finally went to that Awakening support group you suggested," Kai said after she finally got the cinnamon rolls in the oven.

"Good!" Kana looked up from slicing strawberries and grinned at her. "How was it?"

"Awkward. I never know what to say in a situation like that. Maybe I should have brought you or Edér with me." She considered briefly her roommate and his habit of diffusing awkward situations with bad humor and shook her head. "Hmm, maybe not Edér. Everyone was really nice, though."

"I'm glad! I know you haven't been in the Dyrwood long. I hope this'll help you meet more people." Kana picked up the strawberries and folded them into a nearby bowl of whipped cream.

A timer beeped and Kai turned it off, then pulled a shortcake out of one of the ovens. She turned it out onto a plate, set it in the freezer to cool, then returned to Kana and said "I have you and Edér. I don't have time for new friends."

"There's always time for new friends."

\-------

After the breakfast rush, it got pretty quiet at Cafe Nua until what Kai called the post-lunch dessert rush. The quiet period was also when her regulars were most likely to come in.

On some days, Pallegina would come in for a latte with extra sugar and ask Kai to listen while she ranted angrily about her bosses or her clients or whatever other things bothered her that day. Other days, Grieving Mother would arrive right before the next rush to have a pot of tea and sit at a corner table to kith watch. Once a week, Hiravias came in with a vase of flowers to brighten the place up and a sample of whatever herb was thriving in his hot house that week. He'd sit around and chat while Kai tried new recipes with the herbs he brought and then take the leftovers home with him.

Sometimes, Sagani and Itumaak would claim a table and spread out the papers of whatever case she's working on, hoping a new location would give her new perspective. Occasionally, Kai would offer to help, but Sagani very rarely wanted a Watcher's assistance, not since Kai helped her find Persoc--"you keep butting your nose into police business, we'll have to start paying you," she would say, but never cruelly-- so Kai just made sure her coffee stayed full and snuck treats to Itumaak.

None of them came in today, though, and except for a couple students from the local college taking advantage of Cafe Nua's "Bring a Cup I'll Fill It Up" special, it was pretty empty. Kai told Kana to go on break so he could study for whatever assignment or project he was working on. She wasn't one hundred percent sure how homework worked in literature degrees, so she assumed he had to read something.

Then she turned the music up and got to work cleaning.

She was standing on a chair with a feather duster, attempting to clean off the top of the curtains, when she heard the door chime. "Be right with you, darling!" she called over her shoulder. Her new customer didn't answer, but after a moment she felt the presence of someone standing next to her. She kept talking, leaning up on tip-toes to reach the top sill of the window. "You'd think with all the years I spent in school, I'd have some _practical_ knowledge to show for it. I don't suppose you know any spells that remove cobwebs, do you, dear?"

"I know a few spells to _add_ webs," said the man next to Kai, and she startled and almost lost her balance with the realization that she knew his voice, "but none to remove them, I'm afraid."

Kai climbed down off her chair and turned to her guest. She'd met him a few nights prior at the Awakening support meeting; he had been very quiet, with occasional snide aside remarks that she's fairly certain she wasn't supposed to hear. He was very handsome and meticulously groomed and Kai was acutely aware of the dust in her hair and the flour on her apron.

Still, intimidated as she was it was no reason to be rude, so she smiled and said, "Hi! It's good to see you again. Aloth, right?" He nodded and she smiled wider. "I'm Kai. But you… already know that." She offered a hand to shake, then hesitated, realizing how dirty her hands must be; before she could pull away, he reached out and shook her hand firmly. She blushed and resisted the urge to fix her hair. "Welcome to Cafe Nua."

"Is this your bakery?" Aloth looked around at the mismatched wooden tables and the colorful lanterns and art on the walls. "It's charming." His eyes widened and he turned back to her. "I don't mean that in the Aedyran veiled-insult way. I mean it as a compliment. Truly."

Kai laughed. "Thank you. The previous owner left her a mess, I've spent a lot of time getting her up to 'charming.' Would you… would you like some coffee? Or tea?"

"I… yes. Coffee would be lovely."

Kai led the way back to the counter, but once she got there she stopped and studied Aloth for a moment. He really was a lovely specimen, long silky hair and pale eyes and high cheekbones and a rare but potent smile. Aedyre, which meant he probably liked sweets, and she remembered hearing he was a student, so he'd want something strong. Hmm…

He fidgeted under her stare, face reddening. "Is there something the matter?"

Kai shook herself. "No. No, I'm sorry. I like to study people and see if I can guess what they want. I always tell them it's a Watcher thing, but it's really just a Me thing."

He smirked, plucking at a button on the sleeve of his jacket, and said "And what do I want?"

_Oh no._ Kai bit back several things she could have said to that and instead turned to her beloved espresso machine. After thinking about it a moment longer, she decided on a latte with half the milk, an extra shot of espresso, and a dash of vanilla syrup. She then grabbed one of the darkest Rauatai brownies and presented it and the coffee to her new friend.

She tried not to fidget as she watched Aloth try the drink. He had a frustratingly good poker face, and the longer he was quiet the more obvious it was that he was toying with her. Kai wanted so badly to ask what he thought, but she bit her lip against the urge. She watched him and he watched her as he finished the brownie and half his coffee in silence before finally smiling and saying "You have a gift, Kai."

Kai grinned, ridiculously proud of herself. "Thank you. I… if anyone had told me when I was in university that I'd end up running a coffee shop, I'd have laughed them out of Aedyr, but now that I'm here…"

Aloth chuckled. "I know what you mean. Circumstances can find you in the strangest of places." He took another long drink of his latte. Kai could see on his face that he had a lot of questions, but the one he finally asked wasn't what she expected. "What did you study? You mentioned college."

Kai couldn't fully curb the excitement in her voice as she said "History and linguistics, with special interest in dead languages. Well, and the wizardry. I'd been planning to get a degree in anthropology as well, but I Awakened in my second year and things got… complicated." That felt like a gross understatement, but she knew he'd understand. "What about you?"

"What makes you think I went to college?" Aloth asked, but he was smiling.

"There's a peculiar kind of sleeplessness that can only be found in Watchers and postgraduate students, and I know you're not a Watcher."

He laughed aloud then, dropping his guard for a moment, and Kai found herself blushing again for some reason. His eyes were still lit with humor when he finally answered, "History as well, and I'm postgrad in literature. And 'the wizardry'."

"Literature? Do you know Kana Rua?" Kai had a feeling she already knew the answer.

Aloth nodded. "He's the one who told me about this place."

"He's the one who told me about the support group," Kai said. She pointed vaguely over her shoulder and added, "He's in the back right now studying. I actually need to pop back there for a moment, so I'll send him out."

Kai stepped into the back room and as soon as Aloth was out of sight she stomped to the office where Kana sat with his books and hissed, "Why didn't you tell me you had a friend coming to visit?"

"Oh, is Aloth here?" Kana said, in the smuggest voice possible.

"Yes, Aloth is here, and I didn't know he was here to see _you_ , so I've been flirting with him like an _idiot_." She was horribly embarrassed. She should have been more suspicious. Handsome, charming, intelligent, and she wouldn't have to worry about her condition scaring him off? She should have figured he wasn't there to see her. Even if it did seem like he was flirting back.

Kai was so far into her pity spiral it took her a second to get back on subject when Kana said, "Good. I've been trying to get the two of you to meet for months now. You have a lot in common, Kai."

"I--what--" Kai took a deep breath and restarted. "I am not one of your sisters, Kana. I don't need you playing matchmaker."

"Clearly you do, or I wouldn't be."

She wagged an ineffectual finger at him and he laughed. "I ought to tell Maia. I ought to tell _Lena_."

"You wouldn't." He put his hand over his heart, feigning horror.

Kai couldn't stop from smiling. She shoved him toward the front room. "Go talk to your friend. I'm going to get the next tray of cream puffs out of the walk-in before the next rush."

\-------

After taking a few minutes in the cold of the walk-in freezer to calm her nerves and another minute to shake the cobwebs from her hair, Kai stepped back out front with a tray of assorted snacks to restock. Kana and Aloth sat at one of the tables chatting, fresh cups of coffee in front of them.

"She makes almost everything herself," Kana was saying, "even the flavored syrups for the coffees! How is it you phrased it, Kai?"

Well, at least he was making her look good. Out loud, she said, "I do everything except the farming. Only the best for my girl." She pat the counter affectionately and started restocking the display case.

"Why is Cafe Nua a 'she'?" asked Aloth. He seemed to be relaxing a little now. His fine navy wool jacket was off, draped neatly across the back of his chair, and his crisp black button-up was well-tailored, sleeves rolled up his forearms and long-fingered hands wrapped around his coffee mug. It was a very good look.

Kai almost forgot to answer his question. "That would be because of Steward."

Kai touched the shoulder of a carved stone statue that stood next to the espresso machine. The statue was of a woman about Kai's height but of much fuller figure, draped in a flowing dress. Her head was adorned with an antlered circlet, and her hands were poised as if she were dancing. She had a crown of autumn flowers on her head, courtesy of Kai. "Steward is the soul of Cafe Nua. She built this place and had her consciousness transferred to the statue a long time ago. She keeps quiet mostly so she doesn't scare people away."

"Makes it easier to eavesdrop as well," Steward said slyly. Even with the warning, Aloth jumped a little when the statue started talking.

A group of orlans in business suits came through the door in a flurry of sound and motion and Kai put on her best smile. They talked over each other to place their orders and left with four mochas, the last of the brownies, and half of the cream puffs Kai had just put out.

As they left, Kana and Aloth approached the counter. Kana took Aloth's empty mug and went to the back room to clock back in before the crowds arrived. Aloth smiled at Kai and said, "I'll go and let you work. What do I owe you for the coffee?"

Kai waved a hand. "It's on the house, darling." She hadn't expected him to look so uncomfortable with that idea. Before she could think better of it, she added "Buy me a drink sometime and we'll call it even."

Aloth blushed all the way to the tips of his ears, pausing in the act of putting his jacket on to stare at Kai in… horror? Intrigue? She couldn't tell. He schooled his expression again to a sort of bland interest that she was starting to recognize as his preferred default expression, and he said "How about dinner instead? Folcsdag night?"

Of all the things Kai expected him to say, that wasn't one of them. She suddenly felt shy, a sensation she hadn't experienced much before today, but finally said, "Yes. That sounds lovely. We close at 18:00."

"Then I'll pick you up here, 18:30?"

Kai nodded, and they both fell quiet. Aloth tugged at a button on his sleeve again, Kai toyed with the cord of the necklace she wore, and they stared at each other. It was terribly awkward, but not in an altogether unpleasant way.

Aloth moved abruptly as if shaking himself from sleep and his face reddened again. "Yes. Right. I should get going then. I'll see you on Folcsdag. Have a good day. Bye, Kana."

"Bye!" Kana said from right behind Kai, who just barely managed to not jump. Aloth waved and left.

As soon as he was out of sight, Kai leaned over and pressed her face into the cool wood of the counter. "Usher take me, what was I thinking? If this goes poorly, it's your fault," she said and pointed in Kana's vague direction.

Kana laughed and pat her on the shoulder. "You're such a pessimist, my friend! What if it goes great?"

_What if it goes great? First time for everything_ , Kai thought. Then the crowds showed up and she didn't have time to think for a while.

\-------

"If this goes poorly, it's your fault," Aloth told Kana the next day before class.

Kana laughed, heedless of the other students who looked their way. "I think you'll be fine. Just be yourself."

Easy for Kana to say. Aloth had spent more than half his life trying to be someone other than himself.

_She looks lik a lass that likes bonny hings_ , Iselmyr's voice slithered through his mind, _mibbie git her some flowers_.

_Isn't that a little… cliche?_ Aloth replied, biting his lip to make sure he didn't voice it aloud.

It was a peculiar sensation to have the voice in his head roll her eyes, but one Aloth was all too familiar with. _She's a nerd, ye'r a nerd, ye'll fin' a wey tae mak' it nerdy._

He thought about it all through class, barely even aware of the professor's lecture. When it was over Aloth decided that maybe, just this once, Iselmyr had a good idea, and he made his way to Autumn Druid Floral.

The interior reminded Aloth of the jungles of the Cythwood. Every manner and color of flower covered the walls and most of the floor. Some of it was cut in vases, but some grew in pots and others still seemed to be planted right in the floor, and flowering vines climbed up a central pillar.

_Someone's peepin' us_ , Iselmyr warned, and once she pointed it out, he noticed the prickly feeling of eyes on the back of his head.

Or _eye_ , it turned out, as Aloth turned around and came face to face with the shop's owner, a short orlan with a shock of orange hair who seemed to be missing most of the right side of his face. "Hello," he said, after it was obvious the orlan expected him to talk first, "I would like to buy some flowers."

The orlan barked a laugh. "I hope so. Otherwise you're in the wrong place." He scratched at the stump of his missing ear and studied Aloth the same way one might study an intriguing insect. "First date?"

"I beg your pardon?" Aloth wasn't sure why he was so intimidated by a man almost half his height, but there was an intensity to him that he hadn't expected from a florist.

"The reason you're buying flowers. First date?" He spoke slowly, as if he wasn't sure Aloth was fluent in Aedyran.

"Oh. Yes."

He walked off then, headed into the carefully cultivated wilderness. "I'm Hiravias, by the by."

"Aloth," said Aloth, following uncomfortably behind Hiravias.

Hiravias nodded as if Aloth had just told him the secrets of the universe. "Bookish girl, right? Red hair, freckles? Maybe owns a coffee shop?"

"Either you know her or you're in the wrong line of work," Aloth said drolly.

Hiravias laughed sharply. Aloth had never met anyone who could make a laugh sound both friendly and angry before. "Cafe Nua's one of my regular stops. Kiki's good people. And Kana Rua loves to gossip. I figured it was only a matter of time before you ended up in my neck of the woods. Here." He lifted a vase filled with a riot of colorful flowers.

"Why this one?" Aloth stared at the arrangement, but couldn't recognize any of the flowers involved.

Hiravias pointed at each flower in turn as he said, "Amethyst for admiration, coreopsis arkansa for love at first sight, pink rose for friendship, primrose for young love, jasmine just because she likes them."

"I wasn't aware flowers could be quite so… nuanced," Aloth said. It's not the word he was looking for, but it would serve well enough.

Hiravias's eye lit up. "Glanfathans have a whole language built around them. Used to use 'em to send coded messages, but now it's mostly just for fun. You got a minute? Bet I could teach you a thing or two."

The sun had set by the time Aloth left with a completely different bouquet in tow.

\-------

Kai had run out of ways to keep busy and it was still only 18:20. The cafe was more spotless than it had ever been, the books were balanced, prep work for tomorrow was finished. She was wearing something weather appropriate that would fit in anywhere except black tie and her hair was… not _neat_ , that would be too much to ask, but it was manageable and didn't have any flour or cobwebs in it.

She had chased Kana out ten minutes ago, making it very clear what she thought of his offer to chaperone. Now she was trying to ignore the buzzing of her phone as Edér sent her pictures of every animal currently living with them with captions like "Cosmo hopes you have fun <3" and "Lady says we won't wait up for you ;)". She'd go through them when she was less nervous and find it endearing, but at the moment it just made her more anxious.

When Aloth finally walked in at 18:30 on the dot, Kai hoped her relief didn't show on her face. She leaned against the counter, trying to look like she hadn't been counting the seconds until he arrived. She waved and said, "Hi. Um, good evening." _Smooth, Kiki. Real smooth._

"Good evening. These are for you," he said and held a beautiful bouquet of flowers out to her. She recognized a couple, but the rest were unfamiliar breeds, purple and yellow and pink and white together in a cheerful mix.

She took it and turned to find a vase as an excuse to hide the reddening of her cheeks. "Thank you. They're lovely." She noticed the staelgar paw print on the ribbon binding the arrangement together. "Did Hiravias give you his 'language of flowers' lecture?"

Aloth chuckled and some of the tension drained from his shoulders. "Yes, he mentioned you were acquainted."

"That would explain the jasmine then," Kai said as she found a vase and filled it with water and a spoonful of sugar. "What do the rest of them mean?"

"You're a linguist, aren't you?" Aloth asked slyly. "You tell me."

Kai snapped her mouth shut audibly on whatever reply she had. What an intriguing man. Just when Kai thought she had him figured out, he threw her off-balance again. Two could play at that game. "Are you sending me secret messages, darling?" She said with a grin. "How forward of you."

"Too forward?"

"No," Kai said, then quickly changed the subject. "Shall we go then?"

They stopped to grab a bite to eat from a food truck that claimed to serve authentic Aedyran cuisine. It was good, but they agreed there was something distinctly Dyrwoodan in its seasoning. Aloth then took Kai on a walk through the park and along the canals of Copperlane. It was mid-autumn and pleasantly cool outside, warm enough still that Kai's sweater was enough to keep out the chill, but cold enough that if she walked a little closer to Aloth than necessary she could blame it on the weather.

They talked about nothing in particular, about his classes and job at the library, about the cafe and her roommate, about Kana and Iselmyr and being a Watcher. They had very different taste in music, but similar taste in books, and had both come to the Dyrwood in recent months through surprisingly parallel paths.

It was a new sensation for Kai to be on a date without feeling pressured or like she was being interrogated, and she felt acutely aware of herself and the space she filled in the world and how that space related to his. Every time they walked too close and their fingers or shoulders brushed it made her skin tingle.

It was late when they arrived at her townhouse on the east side of Heritage Hill, later than either of them should have stayed out. They stood at her doorstep a couple feet apart, charged silence stretching between them, until Kai blurted out "Would you like to come up for coffee?"

As soon as the words were out, Kai's brain caught up and reminded her all the implications behind such a simple phrase. She also realized she wasn't averse if Aloth chose to take it that way. That was new, too.

Aloth just smiled, though, and said, "Not tonight. I'm already likely to need a nap at work tomorrow, _coffee_ certainly wouldn't help matters. Maybe next time." The emphasis on 'coffee' made her think maybe he wasn't averse either. Interesting.

"Hmm, you're probably right, I should be at the bakery in--" Kai checked her phone and cringed. Sixteen messages from Edér, two from Kana, and a clock cheerfully displaying a much smaller number than she had expected, "--four hours."

"I suppose we lost track of time a little," Aloth said, fidgeting with that button on his jacket again. Kai wondered briefly how often he had to reattach the poor thing before he added, "I'd like to see you again."

"We have open mic night on Godandag," she answered almost immediately. "It's mostly just an excuse for Kana to bring his guitar to work, but it's a lot of fun." Was two days too soon? Kai had never had a second date before.

"Then I'll see you then."

They exchanged phone numbers and, after another moment of hesitation, Kai pressed a quick peck to his cheek and went inside the house before he could see how red her face was.

In the living room, Kai found Kana and Edér asleep on the couch covered in an assortment of animals. Kai snapped a quick picture and texted it to Aloth with the caption "Eora's Okayest Chaperones" then headed to bed to get a couple hours sleep while she could.

\-------

Kai had never considered her Watcher-induced sleeplessness a blessing before, but at least she already knew how to function on only two hours sleep. She was up, bathed, dressed, and out the door before the sun was fully in the sky.

Since she would be working alone that day, she set out the bed for her service dog, a big black hound named Lady, who laid down with a huff and dozed a little while Kai filled the ovens with today's pastries.

The first thing she noticed when she walked into the front room was the vase of flowers from the night before. She smiled, thinking back on last night. The giddy, fluttery feeling still hadn't faded; Kai wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad one.

After she finished stocking the display case, she took a few close-up shots of the different flowers and decided to see what she could find about them online. The search took most of the day, hunting in between customers, but she finally had a list she was fairly certain of scrawled messily on a spare piece of paper:

_Jasmine - you are cheerful and graceful_  
Lavender rose - enchantment  
Clematis - mental beauty  
Meadow lychnis - wit  
Mimosa – bashful 

Kai wasn't completely sure on the last one, but couldn't find any others that matched. Before she could talk herself out of it, she snapped a picture of the list and sent it to Aloth, then followed with "this is the most complicated way i've had anyone compliment my wit and intelligence and tbh i've never been more flattered".

He replied back almost immediately with "Well, it's early yet. I'm sure I'll find other ways to flatter you in the future."

Kai couldn't keep the smile off her face the rest of the day.

\-------

When the next evening rolled around, Aloth arrived with Kana right before the crowds, carrying one of Kana's guitars in one hand and a potted flower in the other. Kai grinned as he handed it to her and she said, "So is this a tradition now?"

"Probably not," he chuckled, "I feel that would give Hiravias entirely too much knowledge about our affairs."

Aloth helped Kana and Edér set up the little corner stage while Kai rapidly filled coffee and snack orders for the people that came to see Kana sing. The turnout was a little bigger every month; before long he'd be too popular for her little cafe. She encouraged him to record videos and put them online, but he was a purist. He said music was best when enjoyed live. Kai considered, not for the first time, recording it for him.

During a brief break in the crowd, Kai took a moment to study the new flower and was happy to see that she recognized it. She got as far as typing it into the search engine before getting busy again.

Once the music started, Kai put up her 'Back in a minute!' sign on the counter by the register and stepped away to watch her friend sing. She checked her phone first, curiosity still gnawing at her, and froze as the search results stared back at her: "purple pansy - you occupy my thoughts."

Oh, by Wael's hundred visions, but that made her heart do a funny flip in her chest. Maybe it was the way it was phrased, but the simple fact that Aloth had been thinking about her enough that he felt the need to buy her flowers declaring such made Kai feel like the room was too warm.

"Something on your mind?" said a voice far too close to her ear. Kai yelped and turned to see Aloth looming over her, barely contained laughter dancing in his eyes.

She met those mirthful eyes like a challenge and told him the truth. "You," she said. His face turned bright red, and she added, "You're setting a really high precedent for future dates, darling. No one can possibly be this charming all the time."

Aloth smiled in a way that made Kai feel warm all the way down to her toes and said, "I suppose you'll have to stay and find out."

"I suppose I will," Kai said, and then to stop herself from saying anything else, she grabbed Aloth's hand and pulled him toward the crowd.

**Author's Note:**

> I would love to do more in this modern setting, it has so much potential. it was hard to cut it down to only things that were at least peripherally related to the prompt. I hope to revisit it in the future


End file.
